Led by Antonio Baker’s 19 points, Florida A&M men’s basketball had four players score in double figures in its 76-63 win over Alabama State on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Jordan Chatman had 14 points, Miles Ndalama contributed 12, and Tyler Shirley chipped in 10 in the Rattlers’ Southwestern Athletic Conference victory at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center.
Guard Micah Octave was a beast on the boards, nabbing 14 rebounds as the Rattlers (11-15, 8-7 in SWAC) beat the Alabama State Hornets (9-19, 6-9 in SWAC).
FAMU built a 40-31 halftime lead and never looked back. Overall, the lead changed eight times and had four ties on Saturday.
The Rattlers shot 49 percent from the field while the Hornets hit just 40 percent of their baskets.FAMU beating Alabama State avenged its 79-66 loss on Feb. 2.
FAMU men’s basketball defeat of Alabama State came on the back half of a SWAC doubleheader that saw the Rattler women fall to the Hornets 62-59 to open the matchups.
FAMU men’s is now sixth out of 12 teams in the SWAC standings with three regular-season games to spare before the league tournament starts on March 9 in Atlanta.
The Rattlers will next make their Louisiana SWAC trip versus the league’s second-ranked, Southern (13-14, 9-5 in SWAC) on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 8:30 Eastern Time, then visit FAMU’s former head coach, Patrick Crarey II, and his Grambling State Tigers (11-15, 5-8 in SWAC) on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 Eastern Time.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU basketball beats Alabama State before Southern, Grambling trip